AFRICA: In the Ivory Coast, President Alassane Ouattara said the country’s presidential election will take place in a “peaceful climate”.

AMERICAS: HRW said that Venezuelan President Maduro’s government is misusing the criminal justice system to go after its critics, with prosecutors opening criminal cases against more than two dozen of them.

ASIA: In Afghanistan, a suicide attacker detonated a truck bomb in the center of Kabul, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 100.

EUROPE: The UN said France needs to draw up a “civil emergency” plan to give dignified accommodation to thousands of migrants camping out in the northern city of Calais.

MIDDLE EAST: Turkey froze the assets of officials from Yemen’s former regime including ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with Huthi rebel leaders.

TECHNOLOGY: US military officials said that they suspect Russian hackers infiltrated an unclassified Pentagon e-mail system used by employees of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

TOP STORY

Syria: ISIS abducts civilians amid continued instability.

Monitoring groups reported that ISIS militants abducted 230 civilians, including at least 60 Christians, in the central town of Al-Qaryatain hours after it captured it.

Witnesses said those abducted were wanted by ISIS for “collaborating with the regime,” and their names were on a list used by the jihadists as they swept through the town.

The US military transferred a suspected ISIS militant, who had been held in US custody in Iraq to local authorities.

Officials said the UNSC is expected to adopt a draft resolution that would set up a panel to determine who is responsible for deadly chlorine gas attacks in the country.

Algeria: The Defense Ministry reported that the army discovered 18 hideouts used as shelters and bomb workshops by terrorists in the province of Ain Defla. (Xinhua)

Egypt: Local media reported that authorities stepped up their search for a Croatian man being held by an ISIS affiliate, with an ultimatum to kill him ending later on Friday. (DPA)

Ivory Coast: President Alassane Ouattara said the country’s presidential election will take place in a “peaceful climate”. (AFP)

South Sudan: The Japanese government extended the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel for UN peacekeeping operations in the country by six months until the end of next February. (Kyodo)

AMERICAS

Argentina: Former President Carlos Menem missed the opening day of his trial over a bomb attack against a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994. (BBC)

United States: Lawmakers voiced concern that the State Department upgraded several countries’ rankings in its annual human trafficking report for political reasons. (AFP)

Venezuela: HRW said that President Maduro’s government is misusing the criminal justice system to go after its critics, with prosecutors opening criminal cases against more than two dozen of them. (AFP)

ASIA

Region: Chinese relatives of passengers aboard missing flight MH370 marched to Malaysia’s embassy in Beijing, some demanding to be taken to Reunion. (AFP)

Afghanistan: A suicide attacker detonated a truck bomb in the center of Kabul, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 100. (NYT)

Bangladesh: A gang armed with machetes hacked a secular blogger to death at his home in Dhaka in the fourth such murder in the country since the start of the year. (AFP)

Burma: The government, army and ethnic armed groups met in Yangon in last ditch efforts to reach a peace agreement before polls in November. (AFP)

Vietnam: US Secretary Kerry told a group of officials and business leaders that improvements in human rights in the country would lead to deeper ties with the US. (NYT)

EUROPE

France: The UN said the country needs to draw up a “civil emergency” plan to give dignified accommodation to thousands of migrants camping out in the northern city of Calais. (AFP)

Greece: The UN refugee agency called on the country to take control of the “total chaos” on Mediterranean islands where thousands of migrants have landed. (Reuters)

Poland: New President Andrzej Duda used his inauguration to call on NATO to better protect Eastern Europe from Russian aggression. (LAT)

Turkey: At least two people were killed and 10 others injured in clashes between PKK members and security forces in southeastern Sirnak province. (Xinhua)

MIDDLE EAST

Bahrain: The government announced the “temporary” suspension of a newspaper close to the Shiite opposition, drawing condemnation from a human rights group which said Manama was seeking to crush dissent. (AP)

Iran: Japan said it is sending a senior trade and industry official to the country along with executives from the oil, gas and other industries. (Reuters)

Yemen: Turkey froze the assets of officials from the country’s former regime including ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with Huthi rebel leaders. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Cybersecurity: US military officials said that they suspect Russian hackers infiltrated an unclassified Pentagon e-mail system used by employees of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (WP)